Joseph Henry Sharp and Eanger Irving Couse. Friends. Contemporaries. Catalysts. Two of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists.

Their contribution to the art of the American West—and history in general—was eye opening and endearing (founding members of the TSA, from left: B.G. Phillips, W.H. Dunton, J.H. Sharp, O.E. Berninghaus, E.I. Couse and E.L. Blumenschein).

They established a gathering place for creative exchange that was as welcoming as it was ahead of its time (from left: E.L. Blumenschein, B.G. Phillips, J.H. Sharp, and E.I. Couse, 1912).

They revealed the spirit and nature of a unique landscape and people through color, texture, and light.

They came to record the traditions and people of the American Southwest. They introduced the world to a place of ancient beauty and culture.

They came to Taos to paint. They left a legacy.

Visit studios of two of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists.
Explore the Couse home and studio. Stand at his easel. See the model’s stage and props. Follow the painting process from concept to finished canvas.
Enter the Luna family chapel. See how Sharp converted this building into a studio in 1909. Imagine him at work. His later studio, built in 1915, presently occupied by an artist in residence, can be visited by special arrangement.